


Fractured

by VentusVulture



Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Earthquakes, Fire, Gay, I don't know what else to put here sorry, Kind of diverges from canon? stuff happens a little bit differently than in the show, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Takes place during and after Timephoon, Television Watching, at least I think? I really hope I didn't misrepresent it, drakepad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27398629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VentusVulture/pseuds/VentusVulture
Summary: "I've went to the future. I've seen how the world ends."AKA what happened to Launchpad during Timephoon, and the aftermath of what he saw in the future.
Relationships: Drake Mallard/Launchpad McQuack
Comments: 3
Kudos: 64





	Fractured

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! Sorry for literally not writing anything in the past nine months! Have a Drakepad fic! I've been wanting to write this one for a while, but never really had the motivation. But now I'm doing NaNoWriMo, so (hopefully) expect a few more fics from me soon!
> 
> (Also why has barely anybody ever referenced the fact that Launchpad knows how the world ends in fanfiction? you'd think more people would use it)

The earth is falling apart around Launchpad.

Burst of fiery liquid spurt up from the ground around him. The ground tremors with every shaky breath he takes. Smoke fills the air, clogging up his lungs, causing him to cough far more often than is healthy for him.

He keeps reminding himself that Gosalyn is safe with the McDucks, but he isn’t so certain he’ll make it himself.

Or Drake.

He desperately wants Drake to make it out of this alive, even more than he wants to make it out of this alive  _ himself _ . “Are you doing okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m-” Drake coughs. “I’m fine. How about you?”

“I’m good.” They keep walking in silence, aside from a few more wheezes from each of them. “...Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere-” he coughs, “-with higher ground.” He turns to look at Launchpad. “...Are you… are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been coughing a lot.”

“So have you. It’s really smoky out.”

Launchpad’s breathing is starting to quicken. He knows what this is a sign of. “Drake…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I- I can’t- I think I’m…” Launchpad’s breathing is getting uncontrollable now. His chest tightens.

“Launchpad!” Drake pulls him to the side of the road they’re on, near a storefront. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Launchpad nods, but everything feels like it’s in a daze. Drake’s words sound muffled, and he can barely understand them. He can tell Drake’s doing… something, but he can’t tell what. His vision is blurry, so he clenches his eyes shut and curls into a ball.

Drake wraps his arms around Launchpad, saying what are probably soothing words, and stroking his hair. It’s helping him calm down a little bit, but not enough to the point where he feels like he can breathe again.

“Keep breathing,” Drake says. Launchpad gulps down a few more smoky breaths. “It’s going to be okay.”

“D-Drake…” he sobs. He doesn’t remember having started crying. “I don’t- I’m-” He draws a few shaky breaths, and his breathing starts to slow. Eventually he’s calmed down to the extent where everything isn’t muffled anymore. “I-I’m sorry,” he chokes out through his tears.

Drake shakes his head. “You have nothing to apologize for.” He plants a small kiss on Launchpad’s cheek. “Are you good to keep going?”

“I-I think.” Launchpad gets up, as does Drake. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Drake nods. “Now come on!”

Launchpad starts to walk forward. The next few seconds all happen in a blur, too quick for him to process. First, there’s a thunderous crack from beneath his feet. He stumbles back as a gigantic gap forms between him and Drake. Drake tries to jump over, but trips and stumbles. Launchpad grabs him, but Drake’s sweaty hand slips through his.

Launchpad can only stare as Drake falls down into the depths of the crack in the earth.

He crumples down to the ground, looking down. Any second now, Drake’s going to grappling hook his way out of the pit. He has to. He’s Darkwing Duck. He always gets back up when he’s knocked down. He  _ has  _ to.

But he never does. The air is silent, aside from the crackling of smoke and fire.

There’s nothing he can do.

Drake is…

And then he’s back in McDuck Manor, holding onto a bathtub.

He blinks, not sure what happened. Was he… alive?

Everyone else is back, too, though their getups look weird. He stares as everyone talks at each other, then gets pulled into a group hug, then watches someone storm away, all in such a daze that he barely realizes anything has happened. None of it feels real yet.

“Launchpad? You okay?” Dewey asks.

Launchpad blinks. “...I’ve seen the future. I know how the world ends.” He pauses, realizing this could upset Dewey, then adds, “It was great! See you there soon!” and walks away, out of the manor.

It’s starting to come back to him – Louie’s time machine and his get rich quick scheme, and how he had been flung to the future.

Drake would be dead right now.

He feels his breathing quicken for a second, but it quickly slows. He’s back in the past (or rather, the present). That means Drake is here too, right?

And yet he can’t stop looking down at the ground, just in case another pit opens up underneath him.

And he can’t stop thinking about everything that had happened. Not even when he gets home. He just sits in silence for a few hours until his phone rings.

It’s Drake.

Launchpad freezes, then takes a deep breath, steeling himself for what’s about to come. He answers the phone.

“Hey, Launchpad, how ya doing?”

It takes all of Launchpad’s strength to not burst into tears. “I- I’m doing good. How about you?”

“Are you okay?” Drake asks. “You sound-”

“I’m fine, don’t worry!” Launchpad jumps in. “Sorry, I’m just kind of- kind of stressed out right now. There’s a feud going on between the McDucks right now, and, uh… Well, you know how those end.”

“Yikes. That’s not good.”

“I’m sure it’ll resolve itself soon,” Launchpad shrugs. “Stuff like that usually does.”

“Hopefully. Anyways, what time are you coming over? The marathon starts soon.”

Launchpad pauses. What marathon? He racks his brain for an answer, then suddenly remembers. The Darkwing Duck marathon starts tonight! He’d even taken a few days off of work with Mr. McD so he could watch it with Drake!

...With Drake.

His chest tightens once more at the thought of seeing Drake again. But he can’t pass this opportunity up! He’d already done so much to prepare for it, and he doesn’t want to let Drake down. “I can start driving over there right now!” he finally responds. “If I’m late, you can go ahead and start without me.”

“No way! I want to watch it all with you! I can pause it anyways. You better hurry, though!”

“Sure thing! See you!” Launchpad hangs up, then breathes a sigh of relief. That didn’t go nearly as awfully as he’d expected.

He gets in his car, and drives over to Drake’s. It doesn’t take very long; his house isn’t too far from Drake’s in St. Canard. But when he gets there, he sits in the car for a few minutes, anxiety gripping his chest so hard he feels like it’ll kill him. What if Drake notices something’s off about him? What is he going to say?

He does his best to shake all his worries away, and steps up the stairs to Drake’s house. Taking a deep breath, he knocks on the door, which Drake opens almost immediately. “Launchpad!” he grins, giving him a quick hug.

Launchpad freezes again. It feels… weird being hugged by Drake. Drake is dead in another time. He tries once again to shove his thoughts away, instead focusing on Drake. “Drake!” he returns the favor, picking Drake up, who is now blushing furiously. “Shall we… get dangerous?”

“L-Let’s,” Drake grins, looking a bit woozy. They walk inside. Drake’s TV is already turned to the channel the marathon is on, and thankfully, it hasn’t started yet. Drake’s bed is in front of the TV, with dozens of pillows on it. “I grabbed every pillow in the house for this!” he says.

“Great!” Launchpad tries to sound as cheery as possible. They both sit down on the sofa, idly chatting about the usual crimefighting stuff before the marathon starts. Launchpad’s eyes keep darting from the screen (to see if the marathon is on), to Drake (to pay attention to what he’s saying and to make sure he’s okay), to the ground (to make sure it isn’t breaking apart beneath them).

“So, another fight, huh?”

Launchpad tilts his head. “What do you mean?”

“With the McDucks. You said they got into a stressful fight.”

“Oh, that! It wasn’t actually that serious. Louie just got grounded, that’s all.”

“Louie got grounded? I didn’t think that was even possible.”

“Neither did I,” Launchpad shrugs. “He did some… stuff today and landed us in trouble, so Della grounded him. I think. The usual get-rich-quick scheme finally ended up having consequences for him, I guess.” He neglects to mention what had happened to  _ him _ , or anything that had happened to Drake.

“Yikes. Wasn’t there a storm over at McDuck Manor today or something? Did that have anything to do with that?”

“Kind of. McDuck Manor is just like that sometimes, though.”

The marathon starts, and they both turn their attention to the TV. Launchpad noticeably lacks energy when they sing the theme song together, but Drake doesn’t seem to acknowledge it. They both still constantly nerd out during the episodes, though.

They’re about halfway through episode 3 when a certain scene comes up. It’s incredibly minor, so Launchpad doesn’t fully remember it or see it coming. Bushroot, the main villain of the episode, is controlling some plants underground. Of all the things he could have done, he breaks open a hole in the ground, causing Darkwing to fall in. Launchpad knows he’ll be okay, considering he knows what happens by the end of the episode, but…

It’s enough of a reminder of what happened that his breathing starts to quicken. He grips onto the bedsheets, sweat starting to drip down his face. His vision starts to blur.

“Man, the puppet they use in this scene was really ahead- Launchpad?” Drake looks over at him, startled. He pauses the episode. “Are you okay?”

Launchpad nods, despite his appearance. “...’m fine.”  
Drake frowns. “No, you’re not. What do you need?”

Launchpad shakes his head. “N-No, I’m fine. I don’t need anything.” He draws in a shaky breath.

“Launchpad, I can’t help you if I don’t know what you need.”

“I-I’m…” Everything finally lets itself out of Launchpad – his stress, his emotions, the fact that he watched Drake die – and he starts sobbing. “S-Sorry…”

“Aw, Launchpad…” Drake wraps his arms around him in a hug. “It’s going to be okay. They’ll make up.”

“It’s- It’s not-” Launchpad chokes. “It’s not that. I can’t- I can’t tell you.”

“You can tell me anything.” Drake strokes his hair. That’s definitely not helping.

“N-No I can’t. It- It might break laws.”

“Laws?” Drake frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“T-Time laws. I don’t know.”

Drake stares at him. “...What… happened? What do you mean, time laws?”

Launchpad shakes his head. “I can’t- I don’t want to talk about it. J-Just let it go.”

“Launchpad, you’re-”

“I said  _ drop it! _ ” Launchpad yells suddenly, immediately regretting it even more than if he’d stayed silent. Drake flinches back and looks at him, startled. “I-I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s okay. I… You can’t talk about it. As much as I’d like to know what’s bothering you, if you can’t say anything, it’s okay.”

Launchpad feels like he’s flip-flopping between dozens of emotions. On the one hand, if he stays silent, Drake’s just going to constantly be even more worried about him than he already is. On the other hand, what is he supposed to  _ say? _ ‘The world got destroyed?’ ‘I saw you die?’ “I love you?”

Drake blinks. “Y-You do?”

Launchpad is even more startled than Drake is. “D-Did I say that out loud?”

Drake nods. “...I… I love you, too, Launchpad.”

Now Launchpad is  _ definitely  _ more startled than Drake. That’s not what he expected him to say at  _ all. _ “R-Really?”

“Of course! You mean… a lot to me. Heck, the fact that we’re here watching a Darkwing Duck marathon together is testament to that alone.”

Launchpad suddenly remembers the future, and smacks himself in the forehead. “Oh, wait, I almost forgot we were boyfriends.”

Drake pauses. “We… were boyfriends? Like… exes?”

“No, silly, in the fu-” he freezes. He’s already said too much. “U-Uh… I don’t know how to cover for what I just said.”

“Wait…” It’s too late. Drake’s starting to put the pieces together. “Did you… go to the future? Is that what this is all about?”

Launchpad frantically thinks of something to say, then gives up and sighs. “...Yes. We’re in love in the future.”

Drake blinks, and then smiles. “Who’s to say we’re not in love right  _ now _ ?”

Launchpad blushes, and then grins back at him. “Good point!”

They both laugh a little. Drake suddenly looks more serious as he turns to Launchpad. “Hey, uh… I’m not going to ask what happened, but… The whole point of the future is that it isn’t determined yet. We in the present shape what happens in the future, right? So whatever you saw isn’t completely determined to happen yet.”

Launchpad only half-understands what Drake’s saying, but he nods anyways. “I guess, but… But it’s still a possibility, right?”

“That’s all it is. A possibility. You don’t know for certain that that’s what’s going to happen. For one thing, if we do stuff differently in the past, things will turn out different. And even then, other people’s actions might change, so even if we do everything the same, their actions could change the future too. Plus, now that you know what happens in the future, you’ll be able to change it if what you saw comes true.”

“I…” Launchpad sighs. “I guess that’s true. But that doesn’t change the fact that I saw some… bad stuff.”

“...If you’re ever having trouble, I’m here to help, you know. If something reminds you about what happened, just… feel free to let me know, and I’ll do my best to reduce the stress on you.”

“...Thanks.” They both lay on their backs, looking up at the ceiling. A thought suddenly occurs to Launchpad. If they change the past, then the future will be affected, right…? “...Hey, you wanna know something funny? According to the future, we actually start being boyfriends in a few months.”

“Oh dang, really? I can’t wait, then!”

“Well…” Launchpad smiles. “Who’s to say we’re not in love right  _ now? _ ”

Drake looks at him. “Y-You mean you…” He blushes, then grins. “I-I accept.”

Launchpad brightens up. “Great! In that case, this marathon will be our first date together!”

Drake chuckles. “I like the way you think!”

And with that, they go back to watching the marathon, Drake making sure to give Launchpad any warnings about the next episode that might trigger him to think about the future he saw again.

Launchpad knows he’ll never forget what happened in the future. He’ll always remember the spurts of magma that burst up from the fracturing ground beneath his feet, the smoke filling the air… and Drake falling down that crack in the ground.

But… they’ve already changed the past. The future isn’t set in stone. All of that could end up not happening. And Drake is here, and he’s alive, and they’re boyfriends now.

So for now, Launchpad just keeps on nerding out with Drake over their favorite episodes of Darkwing Duck.

Maybe everything  _ will _ turn out okay after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Any constructive criticism or kind comments are more than welcome!


End file.
